I’ve been letting my Ranger sit, reluctantly because my kids car seats don’t fit in it. I went to start it up the other day and had to jump it. It started right up with jumper cables, however when I put it in gear it immediately died.
I know the battery won’t hold a charge and won’t even charge fully on the trickle charger. Knowing this I jump started it again and put it in drive while the cables were hooked up, disconnected and drove it around the block. Once I parked I put it back into drive and the engine almost cut out, then tried again and it stalled out completely.
My main question is could the engine stalling be caused by the battery? I’ve read that the IAC could cause this, which I’ve cleaned but that didn’t help the issue.

 

Welcome to the forum

No, after engine is running the battery is not being used, UNLESS...................your alternator is also going bad

You NEED to get a Volt meter, test battery first
12.8volts is a new battery
12.5v is a 3 year old battery
12.3v is a 5/6 year old battery and time to shop for battery sales

12.2volt or less is a drained or bad battery, you need to test a battery AFTER it has been sitting a few hours, NOT just after charging

Jump or get engine started
Test battery terminals again, should now read 14.3-14.8volts, alternator is working
If you see under 13volts then alternator is NOT working
A running engine needs a MINIMUM of 13.5volts at the battery terminals

Shut off engine
Test alternator wires
B+ wire and terminal is the stud/nut on back of alternator, test it for battery volts, i.e. what battery showed when you tested it
If no volts then fuse or fusible link is blown

Unplug the 2 or 3 wire connector on alternator
Test Yellow wire, should see battery volts, if not the fuse is blown

Test green wire, should be 0 volts
Turn key ON
Re-test green wire, should be battery volts, if not fuse is blown

If all 3 wires test OK for battery volts but engine running does NOT show 14+ volts then alternator is bad, for sure

If alternator starts to go bad it can take the battery with it, and visa versa, if you don't change a failing battery it can cause alternator to fail

Car batteries are not designed to release amps long term, they are designed to release 70+ amps quickly to power starter motor, then to be recharged within 5minutes, then they are no longer used until the next start up
If you drain them down they can never be fully recharged, if thats repeated over and over you shorten the life of that battery

 

Thanks for the great information, I’ll try this tomorrow 🤘🏼